For the past 12 years Zenzulu has been fusing contemporary design with traditional craft skills to produce a range of innovative, premium quality handmade South African products.
During the Design Indaba Expo 2014 Zenzulu founder and designer Marisa Fick-Jordaan stepped into the MINI TV studio to talk trends in the South African craft sector.
According to Fick-Jordaan there has been significant material innovation over the past few years in terms of transforming the way it is used and how colour is used in the design.
"Another trend that I have noticed that I find quite exciting is a lot of established handcraft business are exploring digital," she says.
She finds this an exciting crossover between technology and craft and is interested to see what possibilities it may hold for manufacturing and commercialisation of craft products that would make it more accessible to a wider market.
The economic impact of craft and it's potential to change lives is something that she is passionate about:
I believe so passionately that handcrafted product all over Africa is a fantastic way of income generation. It often impacts heavily on rural women who live lead a subsistence lifestyle and have no cash economy, she says.
She believes that we are experiencing an increased demand for the handmade and organic in this age of technology, which only spells good things for the craft sector.
